Country Day pulls away in second half to eliminate Freeland

Published 6:30 am, Thursday, June 12, 2014

ORTONVILLE — Coach Lauren DeRoo’s Freeland soccer team had its sights set on continuing its memorable playoff run right to the state championship game.

And for 40 minutes on Wednesday, the Falcons were up to the task.

But after a scoreless first half, third-ranked Detroit Country Day turned up the speed and the pressure and handed the sixth-ranked Falcons a 3-0 loss in a Division 3 state semifinal at Ortonville Brandon High School.

“We played our hearts out,” said DeRoo, whose team finished 21-3-2 and won its first regional title this season. “We caught (Country Day) off guard. That is a recruited team (because it is a private school). I have pure talent (only from the Freeland area). And we held our own against them.”

Country Day coach Bob Bukari, who has won five state titles in his 26 seasons with the Yellowjackets, said his players underestimated Freeland in the first half. He noted that his team had beaten Flint Powers 1-0 in the regional final, and Powers defeated Freeland 8-0 earlier in the season.

“Freeland played hard, physical and determined,” said Bukari, whose Yellowjackets (21-3-3) will play Hudsonville Unity Christian at noon Saturday for the state title at Mason High School. “Our girls read the press clippings about Powers beating Freeland 8-0. But for 40 minutes, Freeland outplayed us and dominated the game.

“We challenged our girls at halftime and there was some yelling in the locker room. … We needed to wake up and get going. We were not focused (in the first half). In the second half, we showed we were the better team.”

With a defense bolstered by junior Taryn Taugher, who normally plays forward, the Falcons kept the Yellowjackets off the board in the first half, including 32-goal scorer Michele Manning.

“That was my first time playing defense. Coach just told me on the bus that I would be playing back there,” said Taugher. “I thought, ‘I’ll give it my all.’ I’ll do anything I can to help the team.”

DeRoo said she moved Taugher back to defense because of her strength.

“They didn’t expect that,” DeRoo said of the Yellowjackets. “She’s very strong. She did a great job back there.”

Freeland goalie Hannah Foy also made a few nice saves in the first half, several other Country Day scoring opportunities were thwarted by the Freeland defenders, and the Yellowjackets were whistled a few times for being offside.

Meanwhile, the Falcons put a couple of shots on Country Day goalie Isabel Nino.

After a halftime intermission that was marked by a brief rain shower, the Yellowjackets didn’t take long to break the scoreless tie. Just over three minutes into the second half, freshman Dagny Hill gathered a loose ball and rocketed a shot from about 20 yards past Foy for a 1-0 lead.

Barely a minute later, Sonja Niederhofer dribbled the ball past the Freeland defense and booted it over the hands of a charging Foy, and it bounced into the net to make it 2-0.

Eight minutes after that, Country Day’s Olivia Heppard scored on a rebound for a 3-0 lead with 27:14 left.

“They found our weakness (in the second half),” DeRoo said. “They found the gap between our sweeper and our stopper. My girls played well, though.”

Making things even tougher for the Falcons, standout sophomore Danica Miller had to leave the game right after the third goal due to what DeRoo said was a concussion after a collision with a Country Day player.

“Danica’s a strong player. Taking her out of the game was a big factor,” DeRoo said.

With the three-goal lead, the Yellowjackets seemed to shift to a more defensive mode and were able to keep Freeland off the board to preserve the shutout.

Maddie Odom replaced Nino in goal for Country Day for the final 11 minutes.

Taugher said her team will remember the semifinal loss next season.

“It will motivate us to try to get back here next year,” she said.

DeRoo had similar thoughts.

“We’re going to make some changes. Now we know what we’re up against,” she said. “I couldn’t be prouder of the team.”

Of the 21 players on the Freeland team, only three are seniors - Macey Miller, Marina Palomarez, and Kelsey Ropp.

For their part, the Yellowjackets have only four seniors, one of which is Manning.